


we go up

by i_was_human



Category: Lost in Translation (Webcomic)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Adoption, Ahn Jaewon | Wyld Is A Cinnamon Roll, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, DO NOT ASK, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Guitars, High School, Junsu & Kang Dongho | D.Min are Siblings, aged-down characters, american highschool with korean honorifics, beta? in this economy? don't think so
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28966152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_was_human/pseuds/i_was_human
Summary: The Ahn Family consists of, at present:- Ahn Jieun, the only parent ever home- Lee Minsoo, a struggling sophmore/streamer- Ahn Jaewon, an eighth grader without a passion- Ahn Daehyun, a seventh grader trying to make new friendsAs with most things, time can change a lot.
Relationships: Ahn Jaewon | Wyld & Junsu, Ahn Jaewon | Wyld & Kang Dongho | D.Min & Kim Daehyun & Lee Minsoo, Junsu & Kang Dongho | D.Min
Comments: 12
Kudos: 13





	1. tell me 'bout your dreaming

There's something to be said for their home, Minsoo decides.

He glares threateningly at the mess in the corner of his room, irritation only mounting when it refuses to disappear. He doesn't _want_ to clean - _really_ doesn't want to clean - but there's that whole expectations thing people keep harping on about, and since he's the oldest, he has to "set expectations" and all that.

Never mind Jaewon's probably more mature than him and Daehyun _combined_.

In any case, he really _should_ clean up his room. He's still missing his raincoat and last week's math homework, and he's pretty sure the pile of clothes in his room is dangerously close to gaining sentience.

But, consider this: he _does not want to_.

That's a very compelling argument, he thinks.

Jaewon finds him a quarter of the way through cleaning up (though really, he got distracted five minutes in and is now browsing through Steam) and gently knocks on the door, then a bit harder once it's clear Minsoo has his headphones in.

It's to no avail.

"Hyung," he tries, and Minsoo turns, shaking his headphones off his ears as he blinks at his younger brother.

"Yeah?"

"Do you need some help?"

Oh, _fuck_.

"No!" Minsoo crows, leaping out of the chair and posing heroically amidst the mess. "I am the _oldest_! I am _responsible_! I am- I am a _good example_!"

"You're a good example even if your room is dirty, hyung-"

"I am a _good example_!" Minsoo insists, and that's that.

...perhaps he is a good example, because when he goes down for dinner, he catches sight of Jaewon cleaning up his side of his and Daehyun's room, dark hair pushed back with a headband and tongue poking through his lips.

Then again, considering that Daehyun's currently solemnly strumming his ancient guitar while occasionally cheering Jaewon on, he might not be a good example after all.

* * *

Against all reason, they manage to meet up for dinner.

Minsoo's working on his homework, pencil clutched in his hand and brows scrunched in irritation, and Daehyun and Jaewon discuss Daehyun's English teacher for the umpteenth time.

Minsoo fucking hated her, so. He can relate.

"She keeps assigning _work_!" Daehyun wails, sprawling dramatically over the table. "I don't have the _time for this_!"

"How's band?" their mom (though only Daehyun and Jaewon call her that - Minsoo simply calls her Mrs. Ahn or Aunt Jieun) peacefully asks, and Daehyun perks up, excited to talk about something that isn't Mrs. Han's witchcraft.

Minsoo can't blame him. If he was still in seventh grade, he'd want to stop thinking about Mrs. Han, too.

"We're working on a new piece!" Daehyun enthuses, and Jaewon beams, excited as always for his younger brother's success.

Minsoo smiles too - how can he not? Daehyun's genuine love for guitar is something he and Jaewon are still looking for, and though Minsoo thinks he might've found it in games, he can't be sure.

At least he's taking CompSci.

"Jaewon-ah," Mrs. Ahn prompts, "what are you working on?"

"Ah- art's really fun!" Jaewon hums, twirling a bit of spaghetti around his fork. "Jun-ah is really, really good at it, so..."

"Jun?" Mrs. Ahn asks, and Jaewon nods.

"Yeah! He's in Daehyun's grade, but he's really, really good at art. He draws all over his arms, too..."

"Hyung has a cru-ush," Daehyun sing-songs, and Jaewon flushes up to the tips of his ears.

"I don't! Really! I just think he's cool!"

"Platonic pining," Minsoo decrees, taking another sip from his soda. "A time-honored tradition."

"You've never pined for someone!" Daehyun protests, and Minsoo quirks a brow.

"And you have?"

"Ye-"

"Minyoung-ah doesn't count."

"Why not?"

"She's a _lesbian_ , Dae-yah."

Daehyun pouts, taking another angry bite of his spaghetti. How does one angrily eat spaghetti? Minsoo would like to know.

"Anyways," Minsoo grins, "I'm going to stream again tonight. Sorry if it gets loud."

"It's fine!" Jaewon, bless his soul, beams. "You're really not that loud!"

"Yes, he is," Daehyun mumbles. "I can hear him through the- _ow_!"

Jaewon - undeniably the culprit - simply beams, taking another sip from his drink.

God, Minsoo loves his brothers.

* * *

Band is just-

Daehyun has genuinely no words to explain how much he loves band. 

He loves the way the air gets thick with effort, loves the way sound lingers in the air for a few seconds after the piece is done. He loves hearing people warm up, loves hearing the flutes rise from low to high and watching the trumpets send notes pealing from wall to wall.

He has the most important job, though.

He's the only guitarist in the band.

He stares at the tuner clipped to the stand in front of him, grimacing as he sees the note's flat. Ideally, he'd be able to tell by ear, but he's not quite there, so he relies on the tuner to keep Tayler sounding gorgeous.

A massive foghorn noise washes over the room, and Daehyun shivers, the tuba's massively flat note sending his tuner into hysterics.

Well.

He _mostly_ likes hearing people warm up.

Their conductor claps his hands, and Daehyun tries to surreptitiously tune his guitar while the teacher goes over the agenda for the day, tapping the board with his baton as if to emphasize his point. It's really quite nice being in band, and Daehyun's _thrilled_ to be playing a piece that sounds this cool, but their conductor has the ears of a professional musician, and if Daehyun's even the tiniest bit flat, he'll notice.

Anyone who calls math teachers terrifying has clearly never been in band.

"Hey," someone whispers, and Daehyun blinks, staring at the offered music. "We're starting at measure one."

"Ah, thank you...?"

"Minseok," the boy whispers, placing his trumpet back on his knee.

And, well-

Daehyun stares at him - at his hair spiked up with gel, at his eyeliner-rimmed eyes, at the trumpet on his knee - and decides he's going to make a Band Friend(TM).

It also helps that said Band Friend(TM) is, apparently, emo.

* * *

Minsoo is actually going to garrote his CompSci teacher.

No, really.

The man has the gall, the- the fucking _gall_ to assign them two _hours_ of homework and say they can't use the _algorithm that would solve all of it at once_? It's like not using a calculator in this day and age. Who _doesn't_ have a calculator?

He glowers at his desktop, eyes narrowing further as the lines of code blur into utter nonsense. What does half this stuff even _mean_?

His gaze flits from the code on his screen to the post-it note stuck to his monitor, his own small print cheerfully reminding him of his PreCalc test tomorrow, his essay due Wednesday, and his Chem lab on Thursday.

...he'll take his chances with the code, honestly.

"Hyung?" someone asks, and Minsoo blinks, turning to stare at his younger brother.

God bless Ahn Jaewon, honestly.

Jaewon slides a mug of cocoa onto the corner of his desk, his own clutched between his hands and a gentle smile on his lips. And _oh_ , this is the reason Minsoo was content to come stay here after the accident - because more than anything else, Jaewon has _always_ felt like his brother.

"Is it hard?" Jaewon asks, and Minsoo nods, taking a sip from his cocoa.

"It's - _ah, ah, hot_ \- really hard. But I think I get it."

"That's amazing!" Jaewon beams, and Minsoo hums agreement. 

"How about you? How's art?"

"...I'm really bad at it," Jaewon sheepishly admits, and Minsoo nods. "I don't know if there's anything I'm gonna be good enough at to wanna do for the rest of my life..."

"You don't have to just do something creative," Minsoo points out, taking another sip from his cocoa. "And besides, you've got four years."

"...I guess..."

"You," Minsoo decrees, poking the space between Jaewon's eyebrows, "are thinking _way_ too much."

"I am..." Jaewon trails off, gaze pinned on his drink. 

In this moment, Minsoo's oddly reminded of the main character from that anime Daehyun loves.

"You look like mumble-man," he states, and Jaewon chokes on his next sip.

"M- _Mumble-man_?"

"The green-haired guy," Minsoo continues, reaching over to pat Jaewon's back. "Mumble-man."

" _Midoriya Izuku_?"

"Mumble-man," Minsoo definitively states, and Jaewon chokes on a wheeze.

* * *

Jaewon is... so bad at art.

He frowns down at the mess of charcoal on his paper, then at the stuff smeared over his hands. Everyone else is making flowerpots or flowers or solids or _something_ , and here he is.

With charcoal smeared all over his hands.

He's doing great.

"You having trouble?" someone asks, and Jaewon raises his head, gaze landing on Jun.

Oh, _no_.

Here he is, with the artistic prodigy, and he is _failing_.

"No," he lies, and Jun stares down at his supposed project, one brow slowly ticking higher. 

"You sure?"

"...no..."

Jun sighs a bit, picking up his eraser and passing it to Jaewon. "Go wash off your hands, and use the eraser for whatever won't come off. I'll get rid of your extra charcoal."

"Ah- thank you?"

"Don't mention it," Jun hums, and Jaewon watches as their class's prodigy sets to work cleaning up the mess _Jaewon made_ with evident care.

What?

"Are you gonna go wash your hands or what?" Jun snaps, and Jaewon blinks, lips curling into a smile.

"Thank you, Jun-ah!"

"I already said not to mention it."

"Still," Jaewon beams, heading towards the sink. "Thank you."

"...yeah. Lemme show you how to do proper shading, 'kay?"

* * *

Daehyun's English teacher is _evil incarnate_.

She's the kind of teacher where _everyone_ knows she sucks, but the school hasn't removed her for some incomprehensible reason. She's the kind of teacher to tell kids to go stand in a closet just because she can. She's the kind of teacher to assign three hours of homework and then get upset when they can't do it.

They're in seventh grade! Not even Minsoo gets this much homework, and he's in all honors classes!

"Quiet down," Mrs. Han snaps, and Daehyun pouts, scribbling a few words on a piece of paper and sliding it across the desk to his partner in crime.

Now, Minyoung isn't the kind of person to pass notes in class. Never has been.

But the absolute tyranny of Mrs. Han is an exception to even the most basic of rules.

She opens the note in her lap, and Daehyun can see the exact moment she reads his latest creative insult ( _mrs han looks like me, but after a midlife crisis lmao_ ). Her lips twitch in an attempt to hide laughter, and Daehyun slides another paper across the table, the entire time the picture of innocence.

It pays to have Jaewon as an older brother.

Minsoo, not so much.

Technically speaking, it's late enough in the year that Mrs. Han should've caught onto the fact that two of the three Ahn kids are actually gremlins (Daehyun likes to think he gets it from Minsoo). Technically speaking, they shouldn't be able to get away with this.

Then again, Daehyun really doesn't care.

Minyoung bursts into giggles at the sight of his second note, and Mrs. Han whacks the board with her ruler, irritation evident.

"Is there a problem, Minyoung-ah?"

"No, ma'am," Minyoung chokes out, managing to compose herself in a matter of seconds. "Everything's fine."

Mrs. Han stares at them for a moment, eyes narrowed, before she turns back to the chalkboard, continuing to sketch a diagram on some triangle Daehyun's barely heard of.

Wait, isn't this _English_?

* * *

Minsoo's waiting on the front steps for them, as per usual.

The principal gives him a dirty look - Minsoo's sure she thought she saw the last of him when he graduated, but _not fucking likely_ \- which he ignores as per usual, instead opting to wait for the middle school bell to ring.

Daehyun and Jaewon are always the first ones out when it does, the former clutching his guitar case and the latter listening to whatever music's popular these days, and Minsoo always saunters up to them, a fresh load of assignments weighing down his bag.

"So," he always asks, "how's class?"

And Daehyun will launch into a rant on Mrs. Han, and Jaewon will lament how bad he is in art, and Minsoo will guide his little brothers home, steering them out of the way of danger just as he always has.

After all, that's an older brother's job, isn't it?

Keeping his younger siblings safe?

 _It is_ , he decides, watching as Daehyun enthusiastically details the person he met in band today. _It is, and nothing's going to change that._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter one and bitch boy is in it before dongho what the Fuck
> 
> anyways leave me requests for things you wanna see that Aren't dongho lmao
> 
> chapter title from fireflies - nct dream


	2. yesterday was the last day of your life until now

It only takes five more classes for Daehyun to decide to approach Minseok, and two more classes for him to actually do it.

Still, he manages to catch Minseok during warm-up time, and the dark-haired boy blinks at him when Daehyun offers him a tuner, bewilderment evident.

"What's this for?"

"I noticed you didn't have a tuner!" Daehyun beams, and Minseok grins a bit, accepting it from his hand.

"Thanks. You're Kim Daehyun, right?"

"Yeah!" he beams, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "You're Minseok, right?"

"Mhm."

The conductor claps his hands, and Daehyun passes Minseok a piece of paper before rushing back to his seat, a bright smile on his lips.

Minsoo's going to be so happy to hear he finally talked to Minseok!

Or, well... talked to Minseok for a few seconds and gave him his number. It's not... the _best_ , per say, but it's still progress!

He's so excited that he even risks texting Minsoo in the middle of class - an act that garners a "congratulations, put your phone away", which Daehyun thinks is absolutely hilarious, considering Minsoo literally _only_ plays mobile games during class - and right as he's about to put his phone away, a new text pops in.

* * *

**_xxx-xxx-xxxx_ **

is this daehyun?

yes!!!! hi!!!  
you're minseok right??

yea

 _**save contact as "band buddie -w-"?** _ _**yes no** _

whyd you text me?

i thought you were cool :DDDD  
your hair and outfit and playing and stuff!!!!!

ah thx  
ur p cool too

i'm not hehe but thanks for saying that

no u r  
i see u listening to stuff b4 class  
idk what it is but  
it looks cool

!!!!!!!!!  
it's day6!!!!!!!!!

never heard of them

you've never  
yOU'VE NE VER  
you should listen!!!!!  
they're so good

maybe i will

>:3

* * *

Against all odds, Jun comes back the next day.

Jaewon's working on his project, graphite smeared over his forehead and cheeks, and Jun taps the table next to him, pulling up his stool and sliding in next to him.

Jaewon fucking _gawps_.

"Hey," Jun greets, leaning over to stare at his horrific recreation of a flower. "How're you doing?"

"Ah... not well. Don't you have work to do...?"

"Finished," Jun simply replies, tapping the end of his pencil against the paper. "Your shading here is a bit too dark."

"Ah..."

They spend the rest of the period like that - Jun walking Jaewon through shading and Jaewon dutifully following Jun's instructions - and by the time the bell rings, Jaewon's staring at an actually flower-looking flower.

"Thank you!" Jaewon beams, and Jun's lips quirk into a grin.

"Don't mention it."

"I want to thank you, though!" Jaewon protests, and Jun arches a brow.

"Why?"

"You're going out of your way to help me!"

"Don't mention it," Jun repeats, ducking his head. "I'm just helping out to fill some extra time."

"Even if that is true, thank you."

"...yeah, fine. You're welcome."

Jaewon beams, and Jun's lips curl into a small, albeit genuine, grin. "We should head out. We're gonna be late for next period."

"Ah- you're right!"

"How have you not missed any classes yet...?"

* * *

God, Minsoo hates Biology.

He hates _most_ classes, actually, but Biology and its fixation on group projects holds a special place in his heart. 

He scowls at the board as the teacher starts to write up the pairs for their first big project, pencil skittering over his clean paper in a parody of his desktop. He's no artist, but even _he_ would rather sketch than pay attention to his teacher.

"...Lee Minsoo with Kang Dongho..."

What?

He blinks at the chalkboard, thoroughly bewildered. 

Who the _fuck_ is Kang Dongho?

Around the room, his classmates titter, and he catches snippets of _"poor guy"_ and _"he's so gonna fail"_ that he pays no heed - if worst comes to worst, he can do the whole thing, after all - but he still has genuinely _no_ idea who Kang Dongho is.

He likes to think he knows of, if not knows, most people in their grade, but he has _never_ heard of Kang Dongho before.

He stops at the teacher's desk after the bell rings, drumming his fingers against the wall, and Mr. Choi looks up, dark eyes widening at the sight of him.

"Oh, Minsoo-yah. What do you need?"

"Who's Kang Dongho?"

Mr. Choi winces, grip tightening on his pen. "I'm sorry for pairing you with him, Minsoo-yah, and I'll give you five points of extra credit-"

"Who _is he_?"

"He never comes to school," Mr. Choi sighs. "He was held back a year for a lack of attendance, and it's a shame - he's a smart boy, and his younger brother is so talented - and if he just applied himself, I'm sure he could do well..."

"What?"

"You probably haven't seen him," Mr. Choi explains. "He's kind of tall, long black hair, looks like a delinquent..."

"Yeah..." Minsoo trails off, wracking his brain for someone matching Mr. Choi's description. To his chagrin, nobody comes to mind, and he sighs, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I don't know him."

"I suspected as much."

Mr. Choi sighs, resting his chin on his hand. "I'll ask him to come to class sometime next week so the two of you can meet. Again, I really am sorry about this, and I'll give you five points of extra credit for this whole mess."

Now, Minsoo _hates_ deadweight for group projects. Everyone does.

And yet.

Five points of extra credit _is_ very persuading.

"I'll do it," he hums, and Mr. Choi grins.

"Thank you, Minsoo-yah."

* * *

"So, how was school today?"

"I finally talked to Minseok-ah!" Daehyun beams, stuffing a forkful of noodles into his mouth. "He's really cool!"

"I'm so glad to hear that," Mrs. Ahn hums, turning to stare at Jaewon. "Jaewon-ah?"

"Ah- Jun-ah helped me with my project today," Jaewon grins, twirling some noodles around his fork. "He's really good at drawing..."

"Speaking of projects," Minsoo groans, "guess who I'm partnered with?"

"Yoomi-noona?" Daehyun asks, and Minsoo shakes his head. 

"Nn-nn. Kang Dongho."

"Who?" Daehyun asks, and Minsoo shrugs.

"I dunno. Never heard of him. Have you?"

Daehyun and Jaewon shake their heads, and Minsoo sighs, poking his plate with his fork. "That's what I thought. Apparently he has a little brother, but that's all I know about the guy, other than he's apparently a delinquent."

"Fancy words," Daehyun teases, and Minsoo kicks him. " _Ow_!"

"Minsoo-yah," Mrs. Ahn murmurs, and Minsoo sighs into his spaghetti.

"Sorry, Dae-yah. Anyways, I don't know _how_ this is gonna go, but I get extra credit, so at least I get that out of this whole mess."

"I can help!" Jaewon - sweet, sweet, willing Jaewon - offers, and Minsoo shakes his head.

"Nah, I think I got it. I'm just wondering, like... what does he look like? Leather jacket, cigarette, tattoos, motorcycle... what're we betting?"

"He totally has a leather jacket!" Daehyun enthuses, and Minsoo nods.

"Alright, so that's five from Dae-yah. Jae-yah, what're you betting?"

"I think he'll be nice," Jaewon smiles, and Minsoo stares at him for a moment, visibly bewildered. 

"...you're serious."

"Yeah!"

"Alright," Minsoo sighs, making a mental note of it. "Jae-yah thinks he'll be nice."

Minsoo doesn't think he'll win, but Jaewon can dream.

* * *

Daehyun _hates_ English class.

 _Hates it_.

He glowers down at the reading Mrs. Han assigned, letters and punctuation blurring together until it all looks like one jumble of nonsense, and he groans, head falling forwards to smack against the pages.

What a disaster.

"Dae-yah?"

Someone taps the door - Jaewon - and Daehyun raises his head, weary gaze landing on his older brother's hoodie-clad form.

Ah.

"Hey, hyung," Daehyun wearily mumbles. "What's up?"

"You sounded stressed."

Jaewon places a mug on the side table - cocoa, Daehyun realizes - and takes a seat on the bed, hands falling into his lap. "Can I help?"

"I don't know what this is about," Daehyun laments, and Jaewon leans over his shoulder, gaze landing on the words in front of him.

"Ah... I remember reading this last year. How far are you?"

"Not that far," Daehyun mumbles, and Jaewon takes a seat on the desk, peering down at the page.

"Your questions are... hm... 'how did this story affect the genre of dystopia as a whole and revolutionize the way society views itself'...? I don't... I don't even know what that's asking..."

"Me neither," Daehyun miserably adds, and Jaewon sighs.

"Alright, let's work through it together."

He pulls a pencil out from Daehyun's cup and tucks it behind his ear, moving to lean over his younger brother with a soft smile on his face. "What part are you at now...?"

"Uh, the part where he finds out about sledding..."

* * *

Walking to school is always an experience, Jaewon decides.

They always have to leave fifteen minutes early so that Minsoo has ample time to pet the dogs along the way and Daehyun has time to text Minyoung before classes. Every Thursday, they have to leave thirty minutes early, since Daehyun has early rehearsal and Minsoo will _still_ want to pet the dogs - which is adorable, if not mildly irritating - so they need to compensate for that, and then there's the stoplights.

God, Jaewon hates the stoplights. 

He doesn't _hate_ a lot of things - Minsoo likes to joke that he's physically incapable of it - but _god_ does Jaewon hate the stoplights.

They're the kind that tend to flick on and off at random intervals, and Minsoo's nearly walked into traffic more than once due to their stupidity. Nobody's bothered to fix them, despite their house being closer to the nice part of town than the seedy part, and at this point, Jaewon's just waiting for them to tape up an "out of order" sign and let people fend for themselves.

Call it the older brother in him. Call it his hatred of glowing neon signs that blink and count things. He _really, really_ hates stoplights.

In fact, he hates them _so much_ that he once wrote an essay on it. 

The prompt was "write about the thing you hate most", and so, naturally, Jaewon went on a four page tirade about his hatred of the stupid stoplights and the stupid intersections and the stupid cars that zoom by with no regard for anyone or anything, and it's a goddamn miracle nobody else has died-

ahem.

The point is this: Jaewon _hates_ stoplights.

Perhaps a bit more than is strictly necessary, but he hates them all the same.

Surprisingly, Minsoo doesn't hate stoplights. He's the kind to aggressively jaywalk (read: sprint across a highway) so Jaewon would expect at least a _mild_ hatred of stoplights, but _no_.

They can agree on the intersection, at least.

(Jaewon would be more concerned if they couldn't.)

* * *

Minsoo feels... _so bad_.

Daehyun and Jaewon are already long-gone - off towards home - and he's playing with his pencil, tapping the edge against the desk while he waits for his elusive partner to finally show his face.

("I set up a meeting for you two!" Mr. Choi told him, gesturing to the clock. "He agreed to come for thirty minutes after school, so I hope you'll be productive!")

Minsoo has... absolutely no hopes for this meeting, honestly.

Not helping with the previous not helping is that said partner is close to fifteen minutes late.

He taps his pencil against the desk once more, gaze pinned on the cracked door. If Kang Dongho doesn't show his face in the next two minutes, Minsoo is _leaving_.

Footsteps ring through the hall as soon as he thinks that, and Minsoo blinks as the door swings open, revealing someone he can only assume to be Kang Dongho.

And, well-

 _fuck_.

The boy's dark hair hangs around his face, the back pushed into a small ponytail and held in place with a rubber band. His thin coat hangs off his shoulders, and he startles when he sees Minsoo sitting there, dark eyes widening at the sight of him.

"Oh. You're here already."

"Yeah," Minsoo helplessly replies, gesturing to the clock. "School ended seventeen minutes ago."

"Shit," Dongho mutters, reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind his ear. "I'm sorry I'm late. Can we get started?"

Minsoo stares at him, then - at his hollow eyes, too-loose jacket, and too-long hair - and suddenly feels like there's been a _grave_ misunderstanding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: the book dae is reading is the giver, by lois lowry
> 
> pls comment,,, they fuel my soul
> 
> chapter title from sakebe


	3. time of our life

Never let it be said that Lee Minsoo does not get _wholly_ invested in mysteries. 

He's always been one to love games like hide-and-seek and the scavenger hunts his mom used to set up for him and Minsung, and in a way, finding out more about Kang Dongho is like the most intriguing scavenger hunt of all time. 

It does involve a bit of stalking, though.

He's heard Dongho's at school today - mostly from his teacher, who lamented the fact that Dongho point-blank turned down an offer to meet Minsoo once more - and this only solidifies his resolve.

He's going to find him.

And if he ends up busting some kind of drug ring, all the better, right?

Right.

As soon as school lets out, Minsoo darts into the hall, straining to catch sight of a head of dark hair. It takes a few minutes, but he finally manages to make out Dongho's head in the crowd, and he slips through a group of girls, quickening his stride to keep up with the older boy.

Dongho slips out the front door, and Minsoo follows, but instead of heading towards the residential part of town, he starts heading towards the commercial one.

What?

Minsoo follows at a distance, watching as the older boy heads down a series of streets before finally stopping in front of a convenience store. It's shoddy - the kind of vaguely grimy hole-in-the-wall that nobody ever really voluntarily visits - but Dongho disappears inside it without a second glance.

Minsoo waits outside for a moment, just barely peering through the windows, and he watches as Dongho heads for the counter, stepping behind it and dropping his backpack at his feet.

Damn.

Dongho _works here_?

Forget that - this place makes enough money to _pay him to work here_?

He stares at the boy inside for a moment before his gaze lands on a freezer in the back, and his mouth falls open at the sight of multiple energy drinks lined up in the freezer. 

_Score._

And, hell, maybe he'll be able to talk to Dongho, too. That'd be nice.

But also, _energy drinks_.

* * *

Dongho nearly _chokes_ at the sight of someone _voluntarily walking into the store_.

He almost chokes _again_ upon seeing it's _Lee fucking Minsoo_.

He doesn't know much about his project partner - feels bad for the guy, of course, but not much else - and he has _no_ idea what he's like, but here he is.

Standing in the middle of Dongho's store.

Buying energy drinks.

What the fuck?

"Can I help you?" he musters up, and Minsoo frowns, glaring at the energy drinks like they've personally offended him.

"You don't have Monster."

"Sorry."

Minsoo turns, one brow ticking upwards, and Dongho fidgets a bit under his gaze, fingers wrapping protectively around his phone.

"Why're you apologizing?"

Dammit.

Dongho shrugs a bit, and Minsoo frowns at him before turning his attention back to the energy drinks. "What would you recommend?"

"I don't drink energy drinks," Dongho admits, and Minsoo stares at him, visibly bewildered.

" _Really_?"

"Coffee," Dongho helplessly replies, and Minsoo frowns at him.

"So why do you work at a convenience store?"

"For the money."

"Yeah, but why not work at, like... a Starbucks?"

"Starbucks wasn't hiring."

"You're depressing," Minsoo flatly states, scooping a group of miscellaneous energy drinks out of the refrigerator. "We're going to work on the project, by the way."

"I'm at work."

"And you have _so much business_."

Dongho stares at him, bewildered, as Minsoo pulls out a folder and slaps it on the table, lips curling into a fiery grin. "How much do you know about the electron transport chain?"

"...the _what_?"

"Oh, boy."

* * *

As always, Minyoung waits for him after rehearsals.

She's in the school choir - one of the best there, actually - and whenever either of them has rehearsals, the other waits - either in the room, or just outside, notebooks and textbooks strewn over the tile.

Today, though.

"Minyoung-ah!" Daehyun beams, tugging Minseok behind him. "This is Minseok-ah! Minseok-ah, this is Minyoung-ah!"

"It's nice to meet you!" Minyoung squeaks, and Minseok nods.

"Same."

Daehyun waits for a moment, hoping for them to say more, but when neither does, he simply claps his hands. "Alright! Let's head out!"

For the most part, the walk home is amicable, if not a bit stilted. Daehyun tries his best to keep up conversation, but Minyoung's clearly shy, and Minseok keeps his gaze pinned on his feet, expression blank.

That is, until Daehyun brings up Day6.

"Their first album was _clearly_ the best," Daehyun huffs, folding his arms over his chest. "No argument."

"Demon was really good, though," Minyoung points out, and Minseok sighs on Daehyun's other side.

"I can't believe you two are forgetting Entropy."

" _You listened to them_?"

Minseok's expression twists, and he ducks his head, ears tinting pink. "Well... yeah. I said I might, didn't I?"

"But you actually did!" Daehyun cheers, leaning over to sling an arm around Minseok's shoulders. "Who's your bias? What's your favorite album? Isn't Young K just the _coolest_ -"

"My bias is Jae," Minseok sighs, "my favorite album is Entropy, and yes, Young K is cool. But have you seen _Wonpil_?"

"Wonpil," Daehyun sagely agrees, and on his other side, Minyoung hides a giggle in her hand. "What about you, Minyoung-ah?"

"I like Young K," she hums, and Daehyun nods like a particularly hyperactive bobblehead. 

"Exactly! Young K is the _best_!"

"You don't call him Brian?"

"Wh- _blasphemy_!"

* * *

_**annoying fuck** _

hey  
hey  
hyung  
hyuuuung  
minsung hyung  
hyungie  
hyungles  
mr pizza papa tossy man

what???

ah good you responded

who's "mr pizza papa tossy man"??????

you  
i thought that was clear -_-

the Gall  
you come into My House

not at your house

eat My Food

ur tossy pizza?

i  
i cannot believe this

:D  
anyways i need ur help

and you prefaced it by calling me "mr pizza papa tossy man"????

yes.  
and what're you gonna do about it?

...  
what do you need?

that's what i thought ¬‿¬  
anyways  
i have a partner for a group project yea  
but he got held back a grade so i was wondering if you knew him at some point

what's his name?

uhh kang dongho

good news: i know Of him  
i had like... two classes with him i think?  
quiet guy  
really smart though  
and i always saw him walking his little brother home  
he wasn't like... our age tho  
his little brother i mean  
he was Small

how small?

like... kindergarden?  
in elementary school at the Latest  
tiny kid

damn

ikr  
he was always done with his work pretty fast  
like you -_-  
and the teachers all asked him to run errands and stuff  
how's he doing now?  
you said he got held back?

yeah apparently he keeps skipping school  
just.......... deadass Does Not Show Up

hm  
weird

hows kyunghun-ah doing?

whipped

oh my God shut Up  
were just friends

mhm

nO  
TAKE AWAY THE MHMS  
SHUT UR FUCK

:D

AAAAAAAAAA

* * *

"Game night!" Minsoo cheers, dumping a bag of snacks on the dining room table. "It's game night!"

"Game night!" Daehyun echoes, flopping down on the couch. "I can't wait to beat you!"

"In your dreams!"

"Game night!" Jaewon quietly cheers, clinging onto the ragged shark plush in his lap. "Isn't that right, Requinnie?"

The shark, naturally, doesn't reply.

"Mom!" Daehyun calls, waving the fourth controller in the air. "Come play a round!"

"Yeah!" Minsoo cheers, and Mrs. Ahn emerges from the kitchen, a towel in her hands.

"Maybe in a bit, Daehyun-ah. I have to finish the dishes."

"Okay!" Daehyun beams, turning back to the television. "What should we play first?"

"Rainbow Road!" Minsoo crows, chucking a controller in Jaewon's direction. "Catch, Won-ah!"

Jaewon, engrossed in petting his plushie, doesn't notice it until it whacks him in the head. 

He chooses Princess Peach, as he always does, and Minsoo chooses Bowser while Daehyun heads directly for Waluigi.

That's... aggressively unsurprising.

As always, Jaewon loses, and Minsoo and Daehyun end up wrestling on the floor, both shouting at each other while Jaewon tries to move the beaten-up controllers out of the way. As always, it ends with the three of them watching one of Minsoo's favorite anime on the couch together, the bowl between Minsoo's legs and Jaewon and Daehyun on either side.

Game nights always tend to go the same way, after all.

* * *

_**dansu dansu** _

welcome!!!!!!!

 **band buddie -w-  
**?

 **minyoungie <3**  
?

i made a gc for the three of us!!!!  
us day6 stans gotta stick together >:)

 **minyoungie <3**  
:D  
It's nice to meet you again, Minseok-ah!

 **band buddie -w-**  
u 2

see???  
we're such good friends!!!!!  
anyways  
  
tag urself i'm jae-z

 **minyoungie <3**  
idk ^^;

you're doswoon!!!!!!!!  
cannot believe there's even debate  
and minseokkie-yah is brian

 **band buddie -w-**  
thx?

U SHLD BE THANKFUL  
BRIAN IS OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR  
HE'S NOT JUST A LIFESTYLE HE'S A REASON TO LIVE  
ALL HAIL YOUNGK

 **band buddie -w-**  
ok then

* * *

"Hyung!" 

Jaewon looks up from his book just in time for Daehyun to barrel into him, knocking them both back to the sheets.

_Ow._

"Yeah?" he laughs, and Daehyun beams, producing a paper from seemingly nowhere.

"My paper got an A! All thanks to you, hyung!"

"I didn't write it," Jaewon protests, propping himself up on his shoulders. "You did. It's your A."

"Yeah, but you helped," Daehyun pouts, crawling off Jaewon and taking a seat on his bed. "I would've failed without you."

"You're still the one that did it," Jaewon points out, and Daehyun scowls.

"Why won't you accept the compliment, hyung?"

"Because I want you to give yourself credit, too."

"We can both give each other credit!" Daehyun beams. "It's the perfect plan!"

Jaewon giggles a bit at that, reaching up to grasp Daehyun's paper. "You should tell Mom, you know. She'd put it on the fridge."

"I can finally have a fridge spot!" Daehyun gasps, yanking the paper from his hands and scrambling towards the door. "Mom! Mom, look what I did!"

God, Jaewon loves his little brother.

He shoots off a text to his mom - _"Daehyun-ah is coming down with his test paper"_ \- and turns his attention back to his homework, a long sigh escaping his lips at the sight of numerous numbers strewn across the page.

He can do this.

* * *

Somehow, help in art turns to help in other subjects.

As it turns out, Jun's actually _really, really_ good at English and history - two subjects Jaewon is _definitely_ below-average in. Despite this, science seems to be his weakness, and so they work out a routine - each day while Jun's helping Jaewon with art, Jaewon teaches him bits from his science class.

It works much better than Jaewon anticipated.

Plus, Jun's genuinely fun to talk to.

This, somehow, leads to Jun giving Jaewon his number.

"Wh- why are you giving this to me?"

Jun scowls, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "We don't have art next week, and I have a big test coming up, and I was wondering if you could help me study..."

"Of course!" Jaewon beams, pulling out his phone and tapping in the contact. "What's your full name?"

"Why's it matter?"

"I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want, but-"

"Kang Junsu," Jun huffs, folding his arms over his chest. "Nobody calls me Junsu, though. Not even my brother."

"You have a brother?"

Jun stares at him for a moment before pulling his lower lip between his teeth. "Nn-nn."

For some reason, Jun looks _really cute_ like this.

Jaewon's not sure if he's allowed to adopt another little brother - Daehyun might get jealous, after all - but if he could, he thinks he'd really like to adopt Jun.

"Alright!" Jaewon beams, stuffing his phone back in his pocket. "I'll text you once I get home, Jun-ah!"

"I'll be waiting," Jun simply replies, and Jaewon darts out the door, a smile still on his lips.

He made a new friend!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	4. yesterday was the last day of your life until now

"...shit..."

Jun stares down at his report card, hands shaking at the sight of the dark _**B-**_ that stares back at him. It's- objectively, it's not bad, it's fine, people get B minuses all the time, but he can't _afford_ to get a B minus.

Not this quarter.

"What's wrong?"

Jun turns, nearly smacking his older brother in the face with his paper as he tries to hide it behind his back. "Ah- nothing!"

Dongho arches a brow, plucking the paper out of his hands and reading it over in an instant. "...these are really good, Jun-ah. I don't see why you're upset."

"I have a B minus in science," Jun mumbles, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. "Mom and Dad are going to be so mad..."

Dongho's lips thin for a moment, expression darkening before he drops his backpack at his feet. "Here. Let me help."

He produces a strip of white-out and a marker in an instant, and before Jun can protest, he colors out the bottom line of the B and adds a line, turning a B minus into an A plus.

"There," Dongho simply replies, recapping the marker and tossing them into his bag. "Problem solved."

"Ah- thank you, hyung!"

"Of course."

Dongho leans over to place a hand on Jun's shoulder, and he points at the sky, the faintest smile on his lips. "C'mon. Let's get home before I have to go to Mama Jake's."

"Doesn't Shiro-ssi work this shift?"

"Shiro-kun went out with his girlfriend," Dongho mutters. "That man barely speaks Korean, _how does he have so many girlfriends_?"

"He seems nice."

"He's also flakey," Dongho mutters. "He cancelled on his last girlfriend four times to go to a gaming convention with his friend."

"..."

Jun leans over to nudge Dongho with his elbow, and Dongho quirks a brow, gaze drifting to his younger brother. "Yeah?"

"What do you know about the Ahn kids?"

"...ah, shit. I'm working with Minsoo-yah for a Bio project-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Every time I've seen you in the last three weeks, you've been talking about him and your bio project. I need to know about Ahn Jaewon."

"Why would I know anything about him?"

"I don't know. Maybe because Jaewon-ah's older brother's older brother used to be in your grade, and you said he was pretty-"

"Oh my god, shut _up_ , that was _seven years ago_ and you _said_ you'd stop bringing it up-"

"I'll put it in your eulogy," Jun quips, hopping up to balance on a brick wall. "Tell the, like, two people that come how big your crush on Lee Minsung was."

"Weren't you asking about Ahn Jaewon?"

"I was," Jun hums, "but teasing you about Lee Minsung is _way_ more fun."

" _Hey_."

Dongho sighs, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I might be able to make dinner tonight - did you pick up any meat?"

"Not enough this month," Jun murmurs, and Dongho's expression darkens for a moment.

"...then we'll have noodles. We have noodles, right?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Left-overs?"

"...maybe?"

"I'll see what we have," Dongho sighs, reaching up to push a few wayward strands of hair back from his face. "Hopefully I get a raise from the convenience store soon..."

"Yeah..."

"...so, why're you asking about Ahn Jaewon?"

"Wh- he's my _friend_!"

"Mhm."

"You _shut_. It's really not like that."

"...heh."

Dongho raises his head to stare at the sky, the faintest of smiles on his lips. "I'm glad you have a friend to go to, Jun-ah."

"...stop being so sappy. You'll give me cavities."

"Wh- _hey_!"

* * *

"Mom? We're home."

Dongho pushes open the door and ushers Jun inside, wrinkling his nose at the _stench_ that seems to permanently inhabit the living room. It's not as if it's out of the ordinary - it's certainly been _worse_ \- but it's still gross every time.

Their mother makes a low, non-committal sort of humming noise from the couch, and Dongho nudges Jun towards their room before she can argue further. Their room, at least, is clean - Jun makes sure it is - but the stains on the carpet and on the walls are things that can never quite go away, no matter how hard he tries.

"What're you having trouble with?" Dongho asks, plopping down on his bed. "I might be able to help."

Jun drops his backpack next to his bed and pulls out a beaten-up folder, withdrawing a few papers from it and dropping them on his bed. "The functions of organelles."

"..."

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"It's been four years!" Dongho protests, and Jun scowls, leaning over to whack him with the folder.

"Then why'd you _offer_?"

"I thought I could!"

Dongho pulls the papers out of Jun's hands and skims them over for a few moments, lips pursing into a thin line. "...okay, I think I got it."

"Wh- _already_?"

"I remembered more than I thought?" Dongho offers, and Jun scowls, leaning over to elbow his arm.

"You're so dumb, oh my god. Can you even read half of that?"

"..."

"You were gonna wing it!"

"I remember some of it!" Dongho protests, raising his arms in an attempt to shield his face from Jun's folder. " _Why are you hitting me_?"

"What were you gonna do? Teach me something wrong?"

"No!"

"Boys!"

Dongho and Jun freeze in an instant. 

Their mother leans against the doorframe, wisps of smoke escaping the cigarette perched between her lips. Her hair's still the same fading movie-star blond, her dark roots clearly visible, and Dongho winces as she puts out the cigarette against the wall, dark bits of soot falling to the floor.

"Shut the fuck up," she grouses, folding her ams over her chest. "You're lucky your father isn't here to hear this. How can I focus on my shows when you're being so loud?"

"...sorry, Mom."

"Don't fucking apologize," she spits, fury flickering in her dark eyes. "And stop fucking looking at me like that. You look like my waste of a sister."

"..."

"The oven's broken again," she finishes, turning to head back towards the living room. "Fix it."

And with that, she disappears, leaving only silence in her wake.

"...I should get ready," Dongho finally murmurs, turning his gaze to his backpack once more. "Can you handle this?"

"...mhm."

"Okay. I'll bring back some sushi from the store for dinner tonight."

"Mhm."

"Stay safe, Jun-ah."

"Mhm."

* * *

" _Hyung_..."

Daehyun sprawls across Minsoo's bed, the papers in his hand coming to rest against the pillows, and Minsoo arches a brow, pushing his hair back from his face.

"What's up?"

"I don't know how to do this..."

"What is it?"

"It's the cell organelles," Daehyun desperately replies, jolting upright and smacking the papers against the side table. "Can you help?"

"I'm busy, Dae."

" _Please_? I really need some help, hyung, and Jaewon-hyung is busy, so I can't ask him, and Mom is still at work, so-"

"Fine. Move over."

Minsoo bids a tearful farewell to his game before shutting down his PC, and he moves over to sit on his bed, pulling a pencil out of the cup on his nightstand and pressing the tip against Daehyun's worksheet. "So you know what a mitochondria is, right?"

"Yeah! It's the powerhouse of the cell!"

"...great. Do you know what a vacuole is?"

"...the cell brain?"

"We have a lot of work to do, don't we...?"

"Yeah..."

* * *

"Did you know the band and choir trip is coming up?"

Daehyun leans over the top of Minseok's music stand, resting his chin on the metal, and Minseok nods, turning his attention back to his sheet music. "Yeah, I did."

"Cool. Are you going?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"You should come! Me, you, and Minyoung-ah can share a room! You can teach me how to do your cool makeup and spike my hair and look super cool!"

"How many times did you use cool in that one sentence?"

"Not enough!"

"Heh..."

Minseok reaches up to rub the back of his neck, an awkward sort of smile on his lips. "You're so weird, Daehyun-ah-"

"Call me Dae!"

"...Dae-yah. Aren't you gonna go with one of your brothers, though? I thought you three were attached at the hip or something."

"Jaewon-hyung doesn't do band, and Minsoo-hyung doesn't either, so you and Minyoung-ah are my band and choir friends!"

"...heh. You really don't take no for an answer, do you?"

"Nope!"

Daehyun reaches forwards to grasp Minseok's hands, eyes sparkling and a bright smile on his lips. "So, what do you say? Will you room with us?"

"...we're two boys and one girl sharing a room. That's not allowed."

"Aww..."

"But yeah. I'll room with you."

"Oh! Yay! Thank you, Minseok-ah!"

"...mph. If we're gonna be rooming together, call me Seok."

"Okay! Thank you, Seok-ah!"

* * *

"How'd you do on your science test?"

Jun nearly shrieks at the new voice, grip tightening around his paper as he wheels to face the questioner. "Wh- _Jaewon-hyung_?"

"Who else would it be?" Jaewon laughs, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "Ah- how'd you do?"

"I got an A minus!" Jun grins, and Jaewon beams, smiles wide and bright.

"I'm so proud of you, Jun-ah! Did the song help?"

"...the song?"

"Yeah! You know, 'cells, cells, they're made of organelles'-"

" _I do not want to remember_!"

Jaewon giggles as Jun slaps a hand over his mouth, and Jun sighs, fixing Jaewon with his best scowl. Of course, to Jaewon it's just adorable, but Jun is so very sure that he's scary and intimidating that he can't help but try to play along.

It's the older brother in him, he supposes.

"Ah, I'll stop..."

"Hmph," Jun frowns, folding his arms over his chest. "That song was stupid anyways. Who needs that to remember the parts of a cell?"

Jaewon, once again, chooses not to point out that he heard Jun humming it during art, and lets it lie. 

"How've you been doing in your classes, hyung?"

"Ah..."

How can he explain to Jun that to him, a B- is "doing well"?

"I'm doing okay," he settles on, and Jun frowns, expression turning sharp in an instant.

"Are you failing anything?"

"Ah... who's the older one here?"

"Mentally? It's me."

Jun turns to him and fixes him with finger-guns, a faint grin on his lips. "It's the mental illness."

...what does Jaewon even do with that?

"Anyways," Jun continues, as if he didn't just do one of the strangest things Jaewon's ever seen, "we should study at your place. I can help explain math to you, and you can explain science to me. Perfect plan."

"Ah- sure!" Jaewon beams, clutching his papers as tightly as he can. "When are you free?"

"Always. I am literally _always_ free."

"How about Wednesday, then? We get out early, but Daehyun-ah is going to rehearsals and Minsoo-hyung is going to try and find his project partner again."

"That sounds good."

Jun folds up his test paper and sticks it in his back pocket, gaze drifting towards the street. "I should get home before it gets dark."

"...it's only three."

"It gets dark early."

Once again, Jaewon decides to let it lie.

"I'll see you on Wednesday, hyung," Jun hums, gripping his backpack strap and racing off towards the intersection.

Later on, Jaewon will wish he'd followed him. _God_ , does he wish he'd followed Jun right then - _god_ does he wish that he had noticed sooner.

But he didn't.

He didn't, and because of it, things got so, so much worse.

* * *

_**big bro ฅ(＾・ω・＾ฅ)** _

Jun-ah?  
I'll be home soon.  
I got shrimp ^^  
Mildly expired shrimp*  
Highly questionable shrimp**  
...it used to be shrimp.  
Anyways.  
How's it going?

Jun-ah?

How did your science test go?

Jun?

_**[three missed calls from "big bro ฅ(＾・ω・＾ฅ)"]** _

Jun, where are you?  
Please text me back.

_**[seven missed calls from "big bro ฅ(＾・ω・＾ฅ)"]** _

I'm getting off now.  
I'll be home in thirty minutes.  
Please text me back.

I'm here.  
Whose car is in the driveway?  
**[read: 2:49am]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is dedicated to sleepy, for reminding me of that cursed-ass song. why.
> 
> (yes, i can type it all out. i will, too, for the low low price of one comment -w-)
> 
> chapter title from sakebe

**Author's Note:**

> fic title from nct dream's "we go up"
> 
> [twit](https://twitter.com/i_was_human_) | [lit fic discord!](https://discord.gg/CNunB74)


End file.
